The Epidemiological Profile of Tuberculosis Patients and Risk Factors for Poor Treatment Outcomes in Sarpang District, Bhutan: A 17 Years Retrospective Study

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health issues in Bhutan. This study aimed to evaluate epidemiology of TB and predictors of poor treatment outcomes in Sarpang District, Bhutan. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using TB case-based surveillance data of Sarpang District from 2005 to 2021. The outcome of interest was poor treatment outcome. The potential predictors were analyzed using logistic regression. A total of 1704 TB cases were analyzed in this study. The poor outcome in this study was 6.6% with 2.6% deaths due to TB. The patients older than 65 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.45, 7.90]) and sputum non-conversion in the second month with acid-fast bacilli results of scanty (AOR = 3.08, 95% CI = [1.29, 7.34]), 1+ (AOR = 7.12, 95% CI = [3.06, 16.53]), and 2+ (AOR = 21.05, 95% CI = [5.56, 79.63]) were the significant predictors of poor treatment outcome. Therefore, older age and sputum non-conversion in the second month should be given priority.